Istanbul, Aug 4 (dpa/GNA) – Turkey on Tuesday warned an escalation in the Black Sea could have far-reaching consequences, including for food security, after drone attacks struck two Turkish-linked cargo ships.
“Unless preventive measures are taken, the escalation in the Black Sea will have multifaceted negative repercussions, including for food security,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Several sailors were injured late Monday when the Cameroon-flagged and Turkish-operated cargo ship Nadezhda was struck by a drone about 37 kilometres off the Russian port of Novorossiysk while en route to Turkish port of Samsun, Turkey’s General Directorate of Maritime Affairs said.
The Foreign Ministry urged Russia and Ukraine to “urgently implement concrete measures” to ensure navigation safety, adding Ankara is “deeply concerned” of the war spreading further into the Black Sea.
The Foreign Ministry said another Turkish-linked vessel, Yasar, was also attacked the same evening, without elaborating. The incidents come as increased Russian and Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea raised security concerns in one of the region’s busiest sea routes.
The attacks come as NATO allies Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey expanded a joint mission to help safeguard commercial shipping and clear drifting mines in the Black Sea.
GNA